New affordable Tempe housing complex approved for veterans and families

By Mike Sackley | February 17, 2016 at 6:15 amUPDATED: February 17, 2016 at 9:11 am

A rendering of the Valor on Eighth complex. (Gorman & Company, Inc/City of Tempe Photo)

A new affordable housing community designed for veterans and their families is coming to Tempe.

The city council approved the Valor on Eighth development which will be located near Rural Road and Eighth Street. The complex will include 50 rental units built over a ground level, 44-space parking area.

It will include indoor and outdoor recreation for kids. It will also house agencies to provide social and financial services to veterans.

“People that have served in the military, they come home, and they want to (have) a positive impact in the community,” said Tempe City Councilwoman Robin Arredondo-Savage. “If we give them the right tools and the resources to be able to do that, to me it’s a win-win situation.”

Most of the project’s funding will come from $10.6 million in federal low income housing tax credits. The complex is within walking distance of the light rail and Arizona State University. Arredondo-Savage said this housing community has a specific focus on serving women veterans.

“We want to give them a home of their own, some place where they feel safe, some place that they can have space for their families,” Arredondo-Savage said.

Arredondo-Savage, a U.S. Army veteran herself, said the community will be in an established neighborhood. She said veterans and their families will also have at-home counseling services.

There is no estimated date for when construction on the housing community will begin.